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- Courtroom Number: E-713
- Bailiff: Kiese Wilburn
- Department: 31
- Assignment: Asst. Criminal
For the fastest response, please contact the bailiff through email. It may take a bit longer to respond to a voicemail. Please refer to the court's email policy when contacting the court.
Biography
Judge Marshall Ferguson was appointed to the King County Superior Court bench by Governor Jay Inslee in 2018. Judge Ferguson assumed the trial department previously held by the highly esteemed Judge Helen Halpert, who retired from the bench.
Prior to joining the judiciary, Judge Ferguson practiced law for 19 years, mostly as a civil litigator partner at the Seattle law firm of Williams Kastner. He litigated a wide variety of commercial matters, particularly in the areas of real estate and aviation, representing clients in state and federal courts throughout the Pacific Northwest. Between 2016 and 2018, he served as a judge pro tem at the Edmonds Municipal Court, learning under Judge Linda Coburn, who presently serves as a Judge on the Washington Court of Appeals.
Judge Ferguson has long been interested in attorney and judicial ethics, and is committed to developing and teaching rules of ethics that foster public confidence in the courts and judges. Prior to becoming a judge, he was his law firm’s chief ethics officer and also served as a court-appointed hearing officer for Washington State Bar Association attorney disciplinary hearings. Judge Ferguson now serves on the Washington Supreme Court’s Ethics Advisory Committee for judicial ethics and is the current chair of the Superior Court Judges Association’s Judicial Ethics Committee. He has contributed to numerous Ethics Advisory Opinions, and has trained judges and court employees regarding a variety of ethics-related issues. As a regular participant in the Judges In The Classroom program (now resumed post-Covid), Judge Ferguson enjoys teaching students of all ages about judges and the judiciary.
Since joining the Superior Court, Judge Ferguson has chaired the Court’s Dependency Committee, co-chaired the Court’s Budget Committee, continues to serve on both the Budget and Personnel Committees, and was the Court’s Lead Dependency Judge from 2021 until 2023. Judge Ferguson frequently handles judicial settlement conferences in civil cases, including for dependency/termination matters, and welcomes settlement conference inquiries.
Judge Ferguson is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law and Johns Hopkins University. The seventh of ten siblings, Judge Ferguson’s hometown is Lopez Island, Washington, though he currently resides in the Northshore area with his wife and two daughters. He is a private pilot with a lifelong passion for aviation.
Requests
Non-dispositive motions
Parties must comply with all the requirements of KCLR 7 when setting motions without oral argument. Please provide a copy of all proposed orders in Word format to the Court by emailing them to the bailiff. Copies of signed orders will be delivered to counsel or the parties electronically if email addresses have been provided to the Court. If no email address is available for an attorney or a party, please provide preaddressed, stamped envelopes to the Court for its use in sending the order by mail.
Dispositive motions and hearing requests
Oral argument on motions is generally scheduled for Friday mornings. Requests for hearing dates are accepted by emailing or telephoning the bailiff. Working Copies Department 31 is a paper Court and prefers working copies submitted to the Judge’s mailroom C-203, with Judge Ferguson’s name and the case information clearly marked. The Court does not accept working copies via email, absent prior authorization. All working copies should also include proposed orders from each party in Word format.
Trial procedures
The Estimate of Witness Examination (13KB) is required in any trial expected to last longer than 10 trial days.
Prior to appearing in Judge Ferguson's Court for hearings or trial
If you anticipate the need to use videos, PowerPoint, ELMO, or even easels, you should visit the courtroom before your hearing or trial to plan your set-up in a manner that will be most efficient and effective. Please discuss your needs with the bailiff and do not assume that the court will have any particular equipment available for your use.
Motions to shorten time
When a party wishes to request that the court consider a motion on shortened time, the underlying motion must be noted in the regular course, and a separate motion to shorten time submitted as well. Until and unless the court grants the motion to shorten time, all responses and replies should be submitted as though the motion is to be considered in the normal course.
Court transcripts
Cases with an assigned court reporter
If prior to the hearing or trial you know that you will want a copy of the transcript, please contact the court reporter.
Digitally recorded courtrooms
If prior to the hearing or trial you know that you will want a copy of the CD, notify the courtroom clerk, who will be able to provide the information needed at the end of the hearing. If at some time following the hearing or trial, you determine you need a copy of the CD, it may be obtained directly from the Clerk's Office copy center. You will need to submit a completed CD Request Form. Equipment If the parties need extra equipment (TV/DVD/VCR), please contact the bailiff with equipment questions at least 5 days prior to the trial date.
Weddings
Congratulations! Judge Ferguson is available to perform weddings at the King County Courthouse Monday through Friday after 4:30 pm, weekends, and outside of court. Please email the bailiff at ferguson.court@kingcounty.gov to schedule an appointment.